Plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer is a coevolutionary process

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer is a coevolutionary process

AU - Harrison, Ellie

AU - Brockhurst, Michael A.

N1 - ©2012, Elsevier Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Trends in Microbiology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy

PY - 2012/6

Y1 - 2012/6

N2 - Conjugative plasmids are key agents of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) that accelerate bacterial adaptation by vectoring ecologically important traits between strains and species. However, although many conjugative plasmids carry beneficial traits, all plasmids exert physiological costs-of-carriage on bacteria. The existence of conjugative plasmids, therefore, presents a paradox because non-beneficial plasmids should be lost to purifying selection, whereas beneficial genes carried on plasmids should be integrated into the bacterial chromosome. Several ecological solutions to the paradox have been proposed, but none account for co-adaptation of bacteria and conjugative plasmids. Drawing upon evidence from experimental evolution, we argue that HGT via conjugation can only be fully understood in a coevolutionary framework.

AB - Conjugative plasmids are key agents of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) that accelerate bacterial adaptation by vectoring ecologically important traits between strains and species. However, although many conjugative plasmids carry beneficial traits, all plasmids exert physiological costs-of-carriage on bacteria. The existence of conjugative plasmids, therefore, presents a paradox because non-beneficial plasmids should be lost to purifying selection, whereas beneficial genes carried on plasmids should be integrated into the bacterial chromosome. Several ecological solutions to the paradox have been proposed, but none account for co-adaptation of bacteria and conjugative plasmids. Drawing upon evidence from experimental evolution, we argue that HGT via conjugation can only be fully understood in a coevolutionary framework.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84861666352&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.tim.2012.04.003

DO - 10.1016/j.tim.2012.04.003

M3 - Literature review

C2 - 22564249

SN - 0966-842X

VL - 20

SP - 262

EP - 267

JO - Trends in microbiology

JF - Trends in microbiology

IS - 6

ER -